Gender Pay Gap Report 2025
23 December 2025
This is the gender pay gap report of the Solicitors Regulatory Authority and covers the statutory reporting up to April 2025.
Pay gap definitions
The gender pay gap is defined as the difference between the mean or median hourly pay rate that female and male staff receive.
The mean pay gap is the difference between hourly earnings for female and male staff, taking the sum of all hourly rates divided by the total number of female or male staff.
The median pay gap is the difference between the midpoints in the ranges of hourly earnings between female and male staff. It takes all salaries in order from lowest to highest and picks the middle-most salary.
Our reporting period
The figures in the tables below are based on hourly rates of pay during the monthly pay period ending on 25 April 2025 and bonuses paid in the year up to 5 April 2025. The figures are compared to those for years ending April 2024, 2023, 2022 and 2021.
Difference in pay between females and males
The 2025 mean gender pay gap is the lowest pay gap in the last five years, whilst the median has widened.
| Gender | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | +/- percentage point change 2024-25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mean pay gap | 9.70% | 13.40% | 11.80% | 9.00% | 7.80% | -1.20% |
| Median pay gap | 9.30% | 11.20% | 9.30% | 7.20% | 8.00% | 0.80% |
Difference in bonus pay between females and males
Between 2024 and 2025, the mean bonus pay gap has narrowed considerably and the median bonus pay gap remains the same as last year.
| Bonus | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | +/- percentage point change 2023-24 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mean bonus gap | 24.20% | 25.60% | 39.30% | 49.70% | 29.30% | -20.40% |
| Median bonus gap | -14.30% | 12.50% | 20.00% | 16.70% | 16.70% | same |
Proportion of female and male staff receiving a bonus payment 2025
We have several bonus schemes for different levels throughout the organisation.
SRA Proportions of males and females that received a bonus
| 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Male | 84.50% | 84.80% | 84.40% | 77.70% | 78.80% |
| Female | 83.80% | 79.40% | 81.30% | 79.40% | 84.30% |
Proportion of female and male staff in each pay quartile 2025
The table show the gender split when we divide our workforce by ordering hourly rates of pay from highest to lowest and grouping them into four equal quartiles.
Approximately 64% is female and, as the 2025 pay quartile demonstrates, they continue to be well represented across all pay quartiles.
Quartile distribution
| SRA Total | Top | Upper middle | Lower middle | Lower | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Male | 39.00% | 47% | 44% | 34% | 30% |
| Female | 61.00% | 53% | 56% | 66% | 70% | |
| 2022 | Male | 37.00% | 48% | 42% | 32% | 27% |
| Female | 63.00% | 52% | 58% | 68% | 73% | |
| 2023 | Male | 37.00% | 46% | 41% | 35% | 27% |
| Female | 63.00% | 54% | 59% | 65% | 73% | |
| 2024 | Male | 36% | 41% | 42% | 34% | 28% |
| Female | 64% | 59% | 58% | 66% | 72% | |
| 2025 | Male | 36% | 42% | 44% | 30% | 30% |
| Female | 64% | 58% | 56% | 70% | 70% |
Our 2025 median pay gap is 8.0%, which is somewhat lower than the current UK median pay gap of 13.1% (Office of National Statistics 2024).
Our pay gap figures this year are mainly due to the overrepresentation of women in the lower quartiles and their underrepresentation in the upper quartiles in comparison to our overall gender split.
What we’ve achieved on gender pay
We are pleased to see our gender pay gap has narrowed this year, and we remain committed to reducing the gap further.
Here is a summary of the proactive steps we’re taking to address the gender pay gap:
- keeping our recognition tools under review (including the Recognition Hub)
- reviewing action plan to improve ethnic diversity at senior levels
- continuing mentoring and reverse mentoring schemes and expanded the Leadership pathway
- keeping our recruitment suppliers under review
- an ongoing review of policies, processes and practices to make sure we have environment where all can flourish.
We're continuing our work in this area, with details in our senior ethnicity inclusion action plan – covering career development and recruitment reviews – which also supports closing the gender pay gap.
We continue to be committed to a fully inclusive workplace.
As required by the regulation, we confirm the data in this report is accurate.